Examples Of Ambiguity Of Abortion

Emma Gaston

English 4

Rebecca Orona M. ED

January 13, 2023

The ambiguity behind abortion Abortion is a sensitive subject. When spoken, it leads to various responses: some people find it immoral and frown on it, others from experience, it is a traumatic subject, while some remain indifferent to the topic. The three responses can be used to explain what abortion is. To some, abortion is the murder of an unborn child. To others, abortion is the deliberate cessation of a fetus to end a pregnancy, while others will define abortion as the deliberate killing of a fetus to end a pregnancy. The first definition assumes a moral high ground by regarding abortion as a murderous action that might not be the case. Murder, according to

After conception, further development of the fetus, according to conservatives, should not influence its moral status. Conversely, Don Marquis, unlike the religious conservatives, argues that abortion is unethical as it robs the unborn of a future and that abortion is no different from killing a living person (Steinbock). Pro-choice advocates, often referred to as liberal, think it is illogical to give fetuses the same moral status as living persons. Anne Warren, a pro-choice advocate, argues that moral stand should only be afforded to a person; a being with specific characteristics such as consciousness, sentience, and the ability to use language traits that fetuses lack (Steinbock). Judith Thomson conversely argues that even with the personhood of a fetus, the fetus does not have the right to use a woman's body and that the deliberation to keep the pregnancy should be maintained by the woman (Steinbock). The ethical question of abortion is complex and should be considered by both the mother and the

In thirteen reform states, abortion was legal as long as a physician conducted it for reasons such as avoiding physical or mental injury or death of the mother. Also, abortion could be performed if the fetus could be born with severe mental or physical (Myers 1389). Unwanted pregnancies often prompt abortions. Some of the causes of said unwanted pregnancies justified abortions. In the case that a woman was raped, in the states where abortions were legalized, abortion could be performed (Myers 1389). The rulings for abortion were made with the argument that keeping pregnancies would be, in certain circumstances, more injuries to life than